Archive | November, 2011

Falling for Color in Vermont

16 Nov

IT’S so drab and rainy outside right now — and projected to be even more so tomorrow — so I thought I’d brighten things up by sharing my photos of this past weekend in Stowe, Vermont. Foolishly, I had thought I might catch some lazy leaves still flickering on the trees in upstate Vermont but the fall colors had already come and gone more than a month ago. Still, I managed to find plenty of color in the Green Mountain State.

We spotted this vintage blue tractor hanging out behind the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and couldn't resist snapping a few shots

We spotted this vintage blue tractor hanging out behind the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and couldn’t resist snapping a few shots. Below, the red-brown color of the wall drew me. Also by the cider mill—which you should definitely visit in order to taste some deliciously fresh cider, try out a cider doughnut, or buy some other apple-y goodies.

Red barn

The following three photographs were taken by the reservoir in Waterbury, just south of Stowe, where we enjoyed the warm colors of the sunset.

Walking back from the reservoir just before sunset

Sunset at the reservoir

Blue blue sky. Orange orange pumpkin. I don’t mind missing the fall colors in Vermont so much anymore!

Blue sky

Pumpkin

P.S. The pumpkin shot was taken outside Michael’s on the Hill, a “chef-owned” fine-dining restaurant in Waterbury that was by far our best meal in Vermont. It was an excellent meal, from the truffled mushroom tartine to the pork loin and skillet chicken to the profiteroles dessert. I highly recommend it.

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Ode to the Elusive Yellow Cab

9 Nov
Taxis as seen from the High Line

Taxis as seen from the High Line

POETRY doesn’t come often to me. It came to me this morning. I was standing on 23rd Street at 9 a.m., waiting patiently for a cab to come along. I waited and waited. Others saw me waiting and went off to try their luck somewhere else. It was a frustrating experience and one that happens too often for my liking.

We New Yorkers are so proud of never needing a car in the city, ‘you can get everywhere you want to go using public transport,’ we tell those suburban out-of-towners, and that’s true, but once in a while we, too, get lazy and crave the comfort of sitting in the back seat while the city whizzes by, one street at a time.

What follows is a description of my love-hate relationship with cabs in New York— in rhyme:

 

 

Ode to the Elusive Yellow Cab

I look to the left, look to the right
But there’s nary a cabbie in sight
I turn my head and I tap my toe
Where did all of those yellow cabs go?
Look at my watch, and look at time pass
I need a cab, and I need it fast!
I cross the street, hoping for some luck
Just missed one on the other side, f$#k!
There’s one going by, but the light’s not on
People inside, a kid and his mom
Here’s one now, but off-duty it looks
Two others won’t go cross-town, those crooks!
I’m having a bad yellow cab day
I even consider starting to pray
But then one cruises down the lane
Yes! My patience a taxi did gain
It’s about time that I caught a break
In the cold I had started to shake
Just then an old man stepped out on the road
Cursing inside, I honored the code
Graciously gave him my hard-won ride
Even though I was fit to be tied
At that point I surrendered the fight
Subway it is, though it’s late at night
Defeated, I walk across the street
I hear a honk, my heart skips a beat!
The yellow cab pulls up by my side,
“Hey young lady, do you need a ride?”

 

 

 

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Shooting the Marathon

7 Nov

I’M not sure exactly how many people ran in the New York City marathon yesterday. I’ve seen figures of 40,000 and 45,000. According to the New York Times‘ On The Run blog, 18,000 dined at Tavern on the Green in Central Park at the marathon eve dinner. But I reached Central Park at 90th Street just before 1 p.m.—more than two hours after the race had begun, and way after Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai had crossed the finish line in a record-breaking 2 hours, 5 minutes and 5 seconds—and the pavement was still being pounded by an unending streak of runners. Spectators squeezed together on the sidewalks, some waving flags and pom-poms, some brandishing cameras (like me), and others yelling encouragement at brief intervals. The enthusiasm was so infectious it made me feel like even I could do it (I can’t).

Here are a few shots I took:

Children waving flags at the runners

Running woman

Man running with Irish flag

This man ran with a large U.S. flag

This man ran with a large U.S. flag during the 2011 New York City marathon

Receding runners in black and white

Receding runners in black and white

I tried to capture a sense of movement, a feel of the sunshine, and some of the enthusiasm that was in the air that day. Enjoy!

P.S. If the marathon passed you by entirely (wait—there was a marathon in the city yesterday? How come no one told me?), check out this cool video made by compressing photographs of the marathon taken by Benjamin Norman into a one-minute composite.

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